The Tales Never Told
by Katea-Nui
Summary: The Toa are stuff from legends. But what about the Legends that have never been told before? Things that can only be told by the stories from one who knows. welcome to nasukoh's story. OCxKopaka fluff!
1. Nasukoh

The Legends Never Told

Nasukoh's Journey

In the time before time is usually how a story begins, right? Well what if this story began BEFORE even before time? Those are the stories lost to legends, known only to a few, and really, REALLY hard to 'unearth' so to speak. That's how this particular story happens to be. And now, I, Turaga Vakama will unveil the answers behind one of Mata-Nui's greatest mysteries and bring to light some of this world's most courageous heroes.

Nasukoh sat, watching the rolling waves and feeling the rhythmic beat of ocean water upon sand. This place was soothing… and far away from the noise of the jungle. Normally, she'd be hiding in the knowledge Towers of Ko-Metru, but after the great cataclysm and Roodaka's defeat, there wasn't a Metru-Nui to go to at the moment. Oh, it was still standing, but not inhabitable right then. So, the island of Mata-Nui would have to do for now. And Ga-Wahi or Ko-Wahi were the quietest areas she could find. So, the reason she was in Ga-Wahi instead of her favorite place Ko-Wahi? Simple, she wasn't feeling up to the cold at the moment.

Nasukoh had been doing some thinking lately. A LOT of thinking actually. Something hadn't felt ….. normal….. for days now and she was having trouble placing why. Many things were supposed to be happening in the near future, things she didn't want to think about. Things she knew from experience were impossible to avoid. It was like her brother, Avion, always said,

'As long as there is a heart beat within my armor, I will always have a duty and a destiny.'

And she did too. The problem was, would she be ready for it? Her story was a unique one and she lay back in the sand, thinking of her past. It wasn't that she didn't have the experience to deal with challenges. She knew that the light of Mata-Nui always provided a way out of a dark situation. And she had plenty of experience on her side. After all, she HAD been around since the world was first created! That didn't make the destiny thing any easier. If anything, it made it harder.

Unity? Not much of a problem. She got along fine with her brothers and they got along fine with each other. Duty? Oh boy, was THAT one ever cleared up! Train new  
Toa, teach them to be united (not an easy task, might she add. Especially when dealing with a flamebrain and a rockhead!) and above all, NEVER let her secret be known until the time was right! What secret, might you ask? Well…. You'll find out soon enough.

The Original smiled to herself. Funny how you create a lot of things that are used to their fullest, yet you yourself always find that new creeds, simple ones at that, spell out something that took you years to figure out. The matoran always seemed to nail these things on the head. Unity, Duty, Destiny. Three not so simple steps, but three important ones to find your place in the world.

Toa Likahn had taught her that. The expression in her eyes grew sad as she stared at the stars, beginning to disappear in the morning light. She'd lost a close friend among others. It was something she had to deal with throughout the course of her life. That didn't make it any easier.

Her attention was drawn across the beach, to the village of Ga-Koro, home of the Ga-matoran. Voices were beginning to murmur and the sounds of life stirring in the village. Nasukoh sighed and stood, brushing sand from her purple and silver armor. It was time to leave and be hidden. The matoran knew nothing of her existence and, for now, that's how she needed it to be. The time would come, one day, when she and her brothers would make their presence known. Just not yet.

She turned her yellow orb eyes one last time on the ocean, and was about to turn away when she noticed something strange. The rising sun was glinting off of ….. something (two somethings to be technical) on the horizon, bobbing in the waves. She noted it as out of the ordinary but there was nothing she could do to identify the objects at the moment. She would have to wait.

Without a sound, the being as tall as a Toa, but as secretive as a member of the Order of Mata-Nui, disappeared into the luscious greens and exotic noise of the Le-Wahi jungle.


	2. A Warning and a Promise

I _**DO NOT**_ own Bionicle T_T

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Chpt 2:

Okay, so things happen. They always do. And a lot of the time, things happen for a good thing. Well, Nasukoh wasn't one to let the unexpected come looking for her. She liked carefully thought out plans and clear paths. Which is why she was annoyed that Makuta had decided to jump in. Something else that was strange. He usually left her alone. But that wasn't the case now. She dodged a swipe from behind as the enraged rahi wheeled for another shot at her. The Ash bear seemed to be in pain as it tried unsuccessfully to take a chunk out of her side. The infected mask on its face pulsed a sickly green.

'_Ugh! Makuta and his sick tricks!_' Nasukoh thought in disgust.

It was one thing to have pawns in a game, but living creatures were another thing entirely. Especially when they were _unwilling_ living creatures. If Zenick were here, he'd be busting heads, trying to get at Makuta himself. The eleven foot Original always did have a soft spot for rahi. Nasukoh flipped over the thrashing creature, growing tired of this game. She knelt and retrieved a small stone from the marshy ground before taking split second aim and launching the stone at the rahi's face. It hit the mask with practiced precision, knocking it askew and disorienting the Ash bear. Nasukoh closed in and finished her task, pulling off the mask and snapping it in half. The sickly glow slowly faded and in her hands were two halves of a dull, metallic mask. The ash bear shook its head and looked around as if to say 'Where am I?'

Nasukoh patted the creature's head. "You're all right now, my friend. You can return to your den." She told it softly.

The Ash Bear snorted and nuzzled her hand with its nose, before turning around and lumbering away through the trees. Nasukoh watched until she could no longer see the creature and then returned her gaze to the now useless control mask. Her expression became one of angered disgust. How could such an insignificant thing such as this cause so much trouble? Why did she even need to ask? Makuta was in control and that was what mattered. As long as he _stayed_ in that seat of power, many more rahi and matoran would lose their lives needlessly. She dropped the two halves and watched them dissolve into the grown, like black smoke. Such evil radiated from the two blackened spots on the ground that it made her sick. She turned and headed on her way without a glance backwards, her only thought to put Makuta out of her mind…. For now. If she had the choice (which she very much wanted) she would take on Makuta herself.

'_Not my destiny!_' the Original thought to herself, grinding her teeth together. '_Not my destiny, but…What if?_'

The idea was an interesting one. Still, she knew she couldn't and she sighed. As powerful as she may be, Nasukoh knew that she was no match for Makuta, considering she wasn't allowed (per Avion's instructions) to lay a finger on the crazy being. It sucked sometimes, having rules that you would throw away, rather than follow.

"Not one for many words, are you sister?" a quiet voice said from behind her, making her jump.

She spun on her heel, chain blade swinging and ready, but lowered when she saw who was standing in the shadow of a tree. "I could say the same about you, Ugarah." She sighed as the black armored being stepped into the light filtering through the roof of the Le-Wahi jungle. "What are you doing here, brother? This isn't inside your boundaries."

The 'Boundaries' of the Originals were split into six different sections of this world Mata-Nui had created. Each one of her brothers watched over the other five sections, while this one was hers to watch. The problem with the watching was that they weren't allowed to take action if something went wrong. That was a task for the matoran and whatever other beings existed alongside them. The odd thing was, Ugarah hardly EVER traveled outside his Boundaries just for a visit. He was too much of a loner that way.

"No." Ugarah agreed, his voice quiet like it always was. "It isn't. No need to state the obvious sister." He smiled at her, obviously teasing. "But that's not important. What _is_ important is that Avion has a message for you."

Nasukoh felt a ridge on her mask rise. "And that is…..?"

"That something, something powerful, is headed your way. He wanted you to be prepared." Ugarah turned to leave, his message delivered, when he suddenly stopped and turned around. "And don't forget, the rest of us aren't that far from you, should you need us."

Nasukoh rolled her eyes, but Ugarah just stared hard at her. "I mean it, Nasu. Don't do anything stupid."

"I'm not an Air Toa, brother." Nasukoh huffed, slightly annoyed. Ugarah chuckled.

"No, but sometimes you make me wonder." He turned away and disappeared, leaving the jungle to it noisy banter of beast-calls. It was almost as if he had never been.

Nasukoh tried her best to ignore her brother's ominous news. And her irritation at his very suggestive comment. Make him wonder….. huh! She didn't get into trouble…. Much. She had to tag on the last bit. After all, she wasn't the most graceful of beings. Smart, but not very graceful. It was a good thing that she let carefully laid plans map out her next move, or she would have failed as an Original years ago. Maybe Ugarah had a SMALL point.

She shook her head and chose not to think about it. While her brothers may be concerned, she knew that THEY knew that would handle whatever came her way. She'd proven in the past that she could. Well, it was still nice to know that they had her back.

But that other thing he'd said… What did Avion mean? Something's coming her way? She thought as she walked, but nothing came to her. She hadn't really seen anything out…..of….the….oh slag! A nauseated feeling started forming in the pit of her stomach and she turned on her heel and dashed through the underbrush of the jungle. She leaped over tree roots and swampy sections, easily retracing her steps to the edge of the jungle. She didn't dare go any farther. For out on the beach, Ga-Matoran were hard at work, repairing nets, fishing gear, boats, and swimming. Nasukoh quickly scaled a tree, remaining in the shadows so as not to be seen. She then proceeded to ignore the matoran and scanned the horizon for those….whatever she had seen before. Her heartlight raced with the thoughts that were going through her head, but no matter where she turned her gaze she saw…..nothing. Absolutely nothing, but blue sky and dark ocean stretching all the way to the horizon.

She visibly relaxed and the knot forming in her stomach loosened. There was nothing. Whatever she had seen before must have been debris of some kind. Avion meant something different when he'd told Ugarah powerful. It wasn't the time yet. Not yet. She slumped on the tree branch, her eyes staring at nothing as she thought. Maybe she was ruling the possibility out too quickly. She wasn't thinking straight and it had to be because of the jungle. It was a pretty place, but a little too noisy for her liking. She swung herself to the ground, making almost no noise as she hit the earth and she left quickly, seeking the silent, ice capped peaks of Mount Ihu. She had a lot of thinking to do.

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Don't be afraid to tell me what you think.


	3. A Visitor in Your Sleep

**Disclaimer: I DO NOT own Bionicle**

**My mess up has been fixed. Sorry for the inconvenience *sweatdrop*  
**

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Nasukoh was at a loss for what to do. Really, what _could_ she do? If she was right, and she prayed to Mata-Nui that she wasn't, then she had a huge headache riding on the waves somewhere out in the ocean. Or SIX headaches. And with her luck, then yes, she was very right. She stared at the ground as she trekked through the rest of Le-Wahi, her thoughts trying to form themselves into an understandable train of thought. If she was right, then Avion's warning made sense. If she was right, then the cause for worry really increased, but if she was right… a smile formed on her mask. If she was right then Makuta was in for a rather nasty surprise. She was barely aware of the soft ground being exchanged for the crunch of cold snow, but she was fully aware of the ear piercing roar that was always accompanied with an infected Muaka. Her eyes snapped up, just in time to catch claws coming her way. She sidestepped.

'_Here it goes again_.' She thought in annoyance, as the beast wheeled to face her for a second try.

* * *

"You think that was enough of a warning?" Ugarah asked his companion as they traveled through the realm of Karzahni. He could feel the crazy slave keeper's annoyance at the intrusion, but he didn't dare oppose the two beings making their way across his lands. "I'm almost afraid she really WILL consider taking the task on alone."

A deep rumble escaped the throat of his large, dark red armored companion. If Ugarah hadn't known better, he would have been scared, but their long years of working together told him that his brother was just laughing. "She's always been the one for adventure, brother. But she is smart. She knows her limits and the importance of Unity. It is a large part of why this team has survived all these years, what with our… differences."

Ugarah could understand that. Nasukoh had always been the most enthusiastic of their team and her careful planning and dedication to her brothers had gotten them out of too many tight spots to count. Yet something continued to nag at him. He couldn't help but worry.

His companion smiled at the expression on his brother's face. The rare cases that Ugarah tended to show any emotion freely his brothers would often tell him that his 'mask' was slipping. And those rare bouts of emotion were normally reserved for Nasukoh. The large being placed a hand on his shoulder. "Do not worry my friend. Nasu knows what she is doing. She has dealt with such challenges in the past if you will care to remember Metru-Nui and the, uh… incidents. She will be fine."

"And if she won't be, Zenick?" Ugarah asked softly, unable to shake his worry despite his brother's comforting words. "If she really does do something stupid and puts her life at risk…..? What will you do then?"

Zenick's mask darkened. "For the sake of whatever will threaten our sister's life in the future, I hope they will think twice. I am not very forgiving of mistakes that put my siblings in danger." His deep, gravely voice was flat and icy.

Ugarah watched his brother take a small lead and only had to look at the hulking Original, and remember a few times from the past, to know that whoever found themselves on the wrong end of this being's rage would have their destiny cut very short.

* * *

Nasukoh shivered despite her tolerance for extreme temperatures. It was strange to know that this world she lived in was heading for disaster quickly. Which is why, as much as it annoyed her, TOA were needed. Ugh, there! She'd finally thought it to herself. Having Toa as friends was one thing, but listening to _new_ Toa squabble and argue and throw insults at one another was…very frustrating. Especially when you were the one trying to train them. And after the last bunch (although they turned out just fine) she really knew what 'Patience is Key' meant.

'_And I thought I knew everything._' She frowned to herself, trying for a joke. It just didn't sound the same when there wasn't somebody to share it with.

Maybe she should tell the Turaga what she was thinking. Aside from Makuta, the six village elders were the only other beings on the island who knew of her existence. It made it tolerable when she felt lonely, but dealing with the Turaga made her discomfort with the future all that much more noticeable. Especially when they only reminisced on the past. And if she did go to tell them…..and she just happened to be wrong….. She didn't want to think about the disappointment on their masks.

'_No, better to find out I'm right than to spread false hope and then be wrong…._' She decided.

But not today. Tonight would be better, when the matoran had gone to sleep and all was quiet. Then, she could work in peace and secrecy. For now, she would enjoy the calming snow fall of Ko-Wahi and sleep. Mata-Nui did she need rest! She closed her eyes and quickly fell into a restless slumber.

* * *

"_Where am I?" Nasukoh was standing on a cliff, overlooking the ocean. This was weird. Hadn't she just been in Ko-Wahi, going to sleep? Realization dawned on her. "Well, THAT explains it." She muttered. "I'm dreaming. Great. Havn't had one of these in awhile."_

_Personally, she'd always disliked dreaming. Most of the time, she was taken to the past where she'd suffered far more loss than victory. This particular dream seemed to be a mix of her past and present, because as she looked on, it became obvious that she was standing on the island of Mata-Nui, but out on the ocean a thin line of …something, separated it from the Sea of Protodermis. A sea she remembered well and one that surrounded the great City of Legends, Metru-Nui. Her heart ached._

'_Likahn…' she thought sadly._

_Suddenly, she found herself in need of shielding her eyes as a bright light drowned out the scene. A voice resounded in her head and seemed to come from al directions, as if carried on the wind._

"_You are the Toa Teacher." A statement, not a question._

"_And if I am?" Nasukoh asked cautiously, trying to keep herself from being blinded by the light. She thought she recognized the voice, but from where, she couldn't place._

"_You are. And it is by mere chance that fate has brought me to you. Consider yourself lucky, Original."_

'_Lucky?' Nasukoh thought to herself. 'This has been THE strangest day of my life. And I've had weird ones!'_

_The voice in her head was continuing. "You know what is coming, Teacher. You have read the signs correctly where most have failed. You know that the six are arriving. You must prepare for their arrival and mine."_

"_Yours?" Nasukoh had to ask. What did this strange being have to do with her? The light was beginning to dim and she was able to get a glimpse of a figure ringed in light. She didn't need a second look. "You're…!"_

"_Prepare, Teacher! I will be found!" The light faded completely._

_

* * *

_

Nasukoh opened her eyes and found herself staring at an ice blue sky and covered in a thin layer of snow. She sat up, dislodging most of the thin sheet and looked around, disoriented. That was no dream….. it had been a vision. She'd never been able to see them before. That was Vakama's department.

'_But the Great Spirit sent it to me…. Why?_' Nasukoh didn't know, but she did know one thing perfectly clear now. '_I need to find those canisters. That's what was floating out in the water this morning!_'

Without a second thought, she bolted upright and was gone with a blink of an eye, like she possessed a Great Mask of Speed.

It was close to sundown now. Purples and yellows reflected off the water as the sun sank lower behind the horizon. Normally, Nasukoh would stop and watch (sundown was her favorite time of day) after the matoran had packed up there tools and assignments for the day and gone back to their huts. But today was different.

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**Thanks for Reading and I'm sorry for the mess-up!**


	4. A Long Night

**Things are heating up. Be sure to pm me if you don't understand anything.**

**Disclaimer: *Sighs and looks at you seriously***

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It was close to sundown now. Purples and yellows reflected off the water as the sun sank lower behind the horizon. Normally, Nasukoh would stop and watch (sundown was her favorite time of day) after the matoran had packed up there tools and assignments for the day and gone back to their huts. But today was different. Today she was too focused on what was to come to take the time to enjoy what might have been her last peaceful sunset.

She leaped onto a rock outcropping, scanning the water below her and out towards the horizon. It didn't take her long to find what she was looking for, glinting in the last rays of Mata-Nui's two suns. The canister. And inside was a sleeping Toa. But which one? She had a feeling that she was about to find out whether she wanted to or not. The canister bobbed in the water, clearly having trouble getting any closer because of the sloping sand bank. And if she was seeing correctly, and her eye sight and never failed her before, then the canister was actually being pulled _back_ to sea. In the last rays of light, it was easy to spot why. A Makuta fish had dared come close enough to shore and was actually butting its head against the canister in attempts to set it off course. Nasukoh didn't need to ask why.

Now, Makuta fish were known for their, erm, inhospitable natures, (Thus the name _Makuta_ fish) but this one had an extra catch to it. It was wearing an infected mask. Which meant Makuta knew exactly what these canisters were. Nasukoh's eyes narrowed.

"Oh no you don't!" She muttered, leaping into the water with a splash and wading into the waist deep sea water. The Makuta fish immediately turned on her and charged, razor teeth and fins ready to rip and tear. Too bad it was about to bite off more than it could chew.

Nasukoh swept one hand into the water and then thrust it towards the fish, grabbing its mask firmly and wrenching it from its face. Then, she seized the disoriented rahi by the end of its tail and with one simple flick of her wrist, it was sailing through the air before landing in deeper water. She watched in the dark as the fish splashed away, no longer having the urge to fight a creature much more powerful than itself. The dilemma with fish resolved, the Toa Teacher returned her attention to the canister.

"There's no way you're making your way up this bank without help." She sighed, seizing a small crack at the top and dragging the canister forward, grunting with the effort to pull it through the thick, wet sand.

Strength was Zenick's department, but Nasukoh was pretty proud of herself when she managed to get the canister halfway up onto the beach. Then she set to work opening the thing. It wasn't really complicated. Just a matter of finding the right way to turn the hatch. With a hiss of air being released and a creaking of gears, a prone form fell right into her surprised arms. The Toa was unconscious and she quickly set him in the sand. In the light from the stars, she could see that his armor was a fiery red and his naturally overheated body temperature could point to only one thing. She'd just met the Toa of Fire.

"Nice meeting you, Tahu." She muttered to the prone form. For that was indeed his name as legend suggested. Little did she know, that this Toa was still semi-concious. And he'd just heard his name. She reached past him and into the canister, revealing a sword that was forged to resemble flames and a Hau, a Great Mask of Shielding. She whistled. "Nice. These should come in handy."

Nasukoh set them in the sand beside him before backing away. She knew he had rough times aheaed of him, but she also knew that he'd have to face the first part of it on his own. Which meant she couldn't be there when he woke up. Besides, she had other Toa canisters to find. Silently, she observed the beach looking for any threat she may have to take care of before leaving, but saw nothing. She cast one last glance at the unconscious Toa and then turned around to head into the jungle. She sighed. It was going to be a late night.

* * *

It was turning light when Nasukoh finally dragged herself into her haven on the island. It was an under sea cave that led up into a small cove that had breathable air and fresh water. She'd carved it out long ago. With a groan, Nasukoh threw herself down on her cot, glad to have some time to rest. For the majority of the night, she'd spent her time saving Toa from Makuta's efforts to rid him of them. That was probably the only thing that made her own efforts worth while. Being a thorn embedded deep in Makuta's side. He wasn't getting rid of her that easily. Or the Toa. Let them be his headache for awhile.

She groaned again and thought about her night. After Tahu, she had to keep the Toa of Air, Lewa, from sinking into the mud at the edge if the Le-Wahi jungle. Then, she had to find Kopaka, Toa of Ice and keep him from sinking into the bay. (A Tarakava had punctured his canister.) Shortly after that she had gone in search of Onua, Toa of Earth and had found that his canister had already been opened and a large hole had formed itself in the stone wall beside it. She didn't have to be told what had happened and had left the Earth Toa to his own devices. Gali, Toa of Water, had been no problem as well. She seemed at home in the water, her canister having also been opened, but her unconscious body floating in a protected reef. Toa of Stone, Pohatu, had been a tricky one, seeing as she had to deal with a herd of infected Kikonala and two Nui-Jagas. She was luckyto have gotten out of there with the Toa's life intact.

Well, it was over now. Nasukoh comforted herself with the thought that she had accomplished a big thing that night. Now she could sleep for a few hours and then watch. Patience was something she was not short of. Breathing deeply, she closed her eyes and fell asleep.

* * *

Morning. Or was it afternoon? He wasn't sure. You were never sure in this area of the universe. It was always storming and dark and cloudy, but he liked it that way. The Original sat himself at the stone desk and hummed to himself. Why did he like the storms? Because it kept his small little island secret. There wasn't any possible way you could find this place unless you knew where to look. And many a time, he wished that he could make it so that even those who knew where to look couldn't find it. Still, it was necessary and he knew it. He hunched over his newest creation, his tools glowing hot and the metal protodermis melting easily into the shape he wanted. The silver armored being hummed a cheery tune as he worked.

"What are you making THIS time, tinkerer?" and amused voice came from the doorway to his work room, making him jump. He fell off of his stool with a loud bang and groaned, sitting up and rubbing his head. This was promptly followed by loud laughter and the being who had spoken was doubled over as his laughter gained in volume. The silver Original glared at his dark green armored brother.

"Not funny, Kaz!" He muttered angrily.

Kazea merely continued laughing. The look on his little brother's face had been hilarious! Tarusoh was the easiest to startle since he was naturally jumpy and energetic. Not only that, but the inventor normally had his mask in a project and tended to tune out the world around him. So sneaking up on him required hardly any effort at all.

Tarusoh frowned and ignored Kazea, turning back to his project after removing himself and his tools from the floor. His brother always picked on him, but he found it difficult to stay mad at him for long. Kazea had a way of bringing a smile to your mask even if you didn't want one there.

And that's what he was doing now. "Aw, c'mon brother, you know I didn't mean it1" Kazea smirked, striding to his brother's side and throwing an arm over his shoulder. "Besides, I brought you something." The green Original reached into his pack and pulled out a glass vial before waving it in his brother's face.

Tarusoh glanced at the vial and then did a double take. "Is that…?" he breathed reaching for it.

"Protodermis in its purest form? Yes, yes it is." Kazea grinned pulling it out of his brother's reach. "A bribe from Ugarah, saying that this is one meeting you can't miss. So I've come to retrieve you."

Tarusoh stopped smiling, his expression faltering. "A meeting? What for? What's gone wrong now?"

Now it was Kazea's turn to look uncertain. "I…. I'm not sure this is the place to tell you."

Tarusoh's eye ridges shot up. "Why not?"

Kazea shook his head and the grin returned a little strained. "Nuh-uh. You gotta come find out for yourself. So come on! Up and out of your seat, inventor!"

Reluctantly, Tarusoh stood. He didn't like the tone in his brother's voice. Something was wrong. He followed Kazea out into the rain and gripped his shoulder. Kazea wore the Great Mask of Teleportation. Tarusoh closed his eyes and both Originals disappeared from sight.

It didn't take long for them to appear in a long forgotten jungle, dripping with moss and humid. Tarusoh stumbled and Kazea steadied him. Teleportation was always rough if you weren't used to it.

"Okay, brother." Tarusoh sighed as he followed Kazea through the jungle to their annual meeting spot. "You've got me this far and I don't think I'll be getting back on my own. Do get to hear this news?"

Kazea remained silent and Tarusoh could feel the tension building before his brother finally sighed and turned to face him, his expression grim. "Avion's missing."

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**PLEASE PLEASE PLEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASE review?**


	5. Another Turaga Secret

**Yeah, not gonna bother witha disclaimer.**

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Nasukoh traveled silently, watching the Ta-Matoran known as Jaller make his way through the Onu-Wahi tunnels. The Ta-Koro Captain of the Guard looked uneasy and she didn't blame him. She'd never been too fond of underground areas herself. Now Kazea on the other hand… She shook her head and got back on task. For some reason her thoughts kept straying to Avion and her other brothers. She felt on edge and didn't know why. Trying not to think about it only made it worse, so she dealt with keeping an eye on the matoran and juggling her insistent thoughts. Which just made things that much more difficult. Her point was proven when her wandering thoughts distracted her and she ended up almost missing the turn Jaller had made. She frowned and rectified her mistake, walking faster to make up for lost distance. Then she heard a cry and was rushing forward, but careful to stay in the shadows.

As she turned the corner, she saw a worm like rahi towering over the matoran who had his own weapon out for defense. Thinking quickly, Nasukoh glanced around, noticing several large rocks. Luckily for this matoran, this particular rahi she had taken care of long ago. So there was no infected kanohis on this rahi. In absolute confidence, the Original tossed a pebble farther down the tunnel, the small stone hitting the walls with and echo. The worm paused briefly, but decided to pursue the matoran who was making so much noise. In other words, he was easier to track when the predator was as blind as a bat! Nasukoh tried again, staying patient. The beast paused once more, this time turning its sightless eyes in the direction of the sound. The echoes came again and the rahi began moving away from the brave matoran. It disappeared down the tunnel and Jaller was left standing in relief and confusion.

While he was glad the creature had left him alone, he was curious just what had been making that sound. Then he thought better of it. Let Takua do the exploring. He was here to deliver a message. Without a word, he turned and continued on his way, lightstone in hand and weapon in the other, unaware of his unseen shadow.

* * *

Nasukoh followed Jaller all the way to the edge of the Koro, stopping just out of sight of the working Onu-Matoran. It seemed that Onua hadn't made his way here quite yet, but it was all in good time. Tahu had already seen his village after all. Which was why Jaller was here. Vakama was giving Whenua a heads up.

Quietly, Nasukoh began scaling a wall and paused on a ledge to observe the village. There was Whenua's hut in the middle and the way seemed unblocked, so she swung onto a stalagmite and then into the village itself, making a perfect landing just behind the Turaga's hut. She crouched and then hurried through the door while the Turaga and matoran's backs were turned. From there, it was simply a matter of finding a shadowed area of the roof. Easy when you considered that you were underground. There were shadows everywhere. She sat to listen.

"Thank you, Jaller. I suppose your village will be wanting you back now. Nuparu will help you find your way back." Came Whenua's muffled voice from outside.

"Thank you Turaga." Jaller sounded relieved. Most likely because he didn't have to stay down here.

Nasukoh listened as the two matoran departed and the hut became silent. She could hear Whenua take a deep breath outside and she already figured out why. Then she heard the _klunk, klunk, klunk_ of a Turaga's staff and Whenua was suddenly coming through the door. He paused in the doorway, his head tilted to one side as if listening. Then he chuckled.

"You can show yourself, Protector. There is nobody here, but you and me."

Nasukoh dropped to the ground, a little miffed that she had been found out so quickly. "How'd you know?" She asked the Turaga, crossing her arms.

"When Jaller told me about his experience inside the tunnels, I knew that his life had been saved not by luck. It is your way after all. To protect from the shadows and never be seen except by those who are destined to see you." Whenua passed by the silent Nasukoh and then offered more of an explanation. "I turned to the past, my old friend. From previous conversations with you, I knew that if you had followed Jaller far enough to witness his near demise, then you would continue on a course here. It was not difficult."

Nasukoh's lips twitched and she fought the urge to smile. "So you're saying I'm too predictable. Great. Looks like I'll have to mix up my patterns abit…." She couldn't stop the grin. "Or quit visiting you entirely."

Whenua laughed. It took a few seconds before Nasukoh could calm him down, but when he finally stopped to speak, he confirmed what she had already surmised. "I suppose you're here to ask about the Toa?"

A disturbance was heard outside and their attention was drawn to the door. Nasukoh quickly jumped back into the rafters and Whenua went to the door as a matoran ran up to him. Nasukoh recognized the eager, out of breath villager as Onepu.

"Turaga Whenua! Come quick! It's….. It's amazing!" Onepu said breathlessly. "A Toa! Toa Onua is here! Just as the legends foretold!"

Whenua smiled. "I see. Well, he'd better not be kept waiting then. Let us go to him." And they left, with Whenua casting one last glance towards Nasukoh. She got the feeling that the last comment had been meant for her as much as himself. Well, he knew how it worked. And it wasn't changing anytime soon. The Toa had to be tested before she even _thought_ about teaching them anything.

She left quickly, easily not getting caught and headed back for the surface. She wasn't going to be able to talk to any of the Turaga for a while. The tunnels were quiet as she took her time. Right about now, the Toa would be in their villages, meeting the matoran and Turaga. Then, they would look to meet one another. Things were going to get confusing awfully fast.

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**Sorry if this chapter wasn't secret filled. I wrote it merely to establish that the Turaga knew Nasukoh and given Nasukoh's DUTY, you should be able to surmise why. The next chapter will have a major time skip. I'm not gonna write about ALL the Toa's adventures since most of you already know them. The next chapter will take place somewhere after the Bohrok's defeat and before the Mask of Light storyline.**

**Please review!**


	6. And So It Begins

**I DO NOt own Bionicle, but wished I did. *Sighs Dreamily***

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Nasukoh watched the Toa Nuva and sighed to herself. She had to admit that she'd been impressed for awhile. The Toa, despite the problems that had arisen when they first met up, had defeated Makuta's threats left and right. Infected Rahi? Problem discovered and masks being removed left and right. Check off one. Find their Golden Kanohi and confront Makuta himself? That's check two. Defeat of the Bohrok swarms and Barahg? Number three, check and gone. Defeat of the Bohrok-Kai and continued imprisonment of the Barahg? Check, check, and checked. Now they were standing in the sunlight and were Toa Nuva. All of which she'd had very little involvement in. Yes, she was quite impressed. But now, the Toa were getting a little prideful and already she could hear talk of splitting and returning to their own Wahis. Typical Toa behavior. There were very few Toa teams that got along from the get-go. Still… As much as she hated to admit it, the Toa _had_ proven themselves. And at this moment, they needed to be a team. Especially since they were becoming an irritation to Makuta. He would strike while the Toa were split. It was almost a guarantee.

Which meant that she would be meeting them soon… Oh joy. With another sigh, Nasukoh leaped to another branch and sat quietly, waiting. Now was the time to start her challenge. If the Toa could pass it, she would teach them everything she knew. If they didn't, well… too bad. So she waited and soon enough, the bickering Toa were traversing the jungle underneath her.

She smiled to herself before dropping in front of them while they were distracted and settling herself on an upturned root. It was as if she'd been there the whole time.

"Well I see no reason to continue this alliance." Tahu said shortly and he turned to stomp off. The only problem was, he was now facing Nasukoh. This had been the second time that the Original had seen any of the Toa up close. Their Nuva forms were certainly impressive. But looks weren't everything.

The Toa of Fire stumbled backwards in surprise while his brothers and sister each stared in shock. Nasukoh felt like laughing, but only grinned instead. She would not be the one to break the heavy, awkward silence that had fallen over the Toa. Suddenly, a shrill Gukko call burst out among the normal sounds. That one cry broke the tension and Nasukoh predictably found herself staring down the flame broadsword of Tahu. The other Toa had pulled out their own weapons as well.

Her grin grew. She felt far from threatened. Instead, this newcomer seemed to the Toa to be the very picture of calmness and relaxation. This annoyed Tahu. Didn't this being have any fear of them? They'd just destroyed Makuta's Bohrok threat and changed into more powerful Toa! Certainly there wasn't anything they couldn't handle.

"Who are you? And where are you from?" The Toa of Fire demanded.

Nasukoh shrugged. "Oh, I'm from here and there, Toa of Fire." She answered, pushing the sword out of her face, not minding the heat traveling along the length of the blade. "And who I am isn't important…..yet."

Tahu frowned. This beings voice sounded… familiar. He shook his head. He couldn't think like that! She could be some trick of Makuta. Onua seemed to be thinking the same thing.

"Are you some trick of Makuta?" His deep voice was laced with suspicion and caution.

"No! No trick." Nasukoh frowned. She really didn't like being thrown into Makuta's category. "Besides, me and that creep don't get along too well."

"Then you know of Makuta." Kopaka's eyes flashed with suspicion.

"Yes, Toa of Ice. I know him. And I really don't care for his way of doing things." Nasukoh said shortly. "And I didn't come here to have fingers, suspicion, and demands thrown at me! I came here to help you if that means anything."

"We don't need help." Kopaka said quietly. He found this new being intriguing. She was giving off the feeling of power, but he detected no threat from her. She seemed… confident, and gave off the air that she'd seen much more cruelty than she would care to share. Whether his brothers or sister picked up on that, he didn't know.

Nasukoh snorted and rolled her eyes. "Uh-huh. And I've heard that before." She shook her head. "Really, you'd be surprised how needing you are of my help. Or any help for that matter."

"I'm sorry." Pohatu said, his weapon having lowered awhile ago. "But that sounds awfully presumptuous. I think we've handled Makuta's threats well."

"Yes!" Lewa cried suddenly. "He will be deep-hiding for scare-fear of the Toa Nuva!"

"For how long?" Nasukoh asked, crossing her arms. "Don't answer that. I already know. One thing you haven't seemed to grasp about Makuta is that he NEVER gives up! He's a little overly ambitious that way."

"I don't believe you." Tahu growled.

"Of course you don't." Nasukoh was grinning again. "I'm not here to be believed. I'm here to train Toa, but… if you don't want to know how to beat the Makuta… I'll be going."

The Original turned on her heel and counted down from three. She felt the tension building behind her and right on cue, Toa Gali was calling after her.

She turned. "Yes?"

The Toa of Water hesitated before continuing. "What do you mean; you know how to defeat Makuta?"

"You've been around as long as I have and you pick up on a few things." Nasukoh smiled.

Behind the Toa of Water, the other Toa were glancing at each other. Then Pohatu stepped forward. "If you can really help us get rid of the Makuta, we would be happy to accept your help."

"Hmmmmm." Nasukoh pretended to consider the Toa's words. If she could, she would turn it down in a heartbeat. She'd had enough drama with Toa for a lifetime, but it wasn't her choice. "I will, but… You'll need to be tested."

Onua and Pohatu exchanged glances. Kopaka's eyes narrowed. "Tested?"

Nasukoh turned and pointed to the two setting suns. "When the sun rises tomorrow, I'll give you a week. If you can't catch me within that time, you get nothing from me. However…catch me, and I'll tell you everything you need to know."

"Matoran's fun-play!" Lewa cried. "That isn't much of a hard-challenge."

Nasukoh's mask ridges went up. "Really?" she grinned and turned away. "We'll see, Toa of Air. We'll see." Then, she was gone in the last rays of light, leaving the Toa staring after her.

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**You know that drill! Every review is appreciated!**


	7. One Down, Five to Go

**Hope you're all enjoying Nasukoh's story. Here's some more for you guys!**

**And no, I do not own Bionicle. Only my OCs.  
**

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Nasukoh trekked through the lava flats of Ta-Wahi, taking her time. The test had begun two hours ago, but she wasn't worried about it. There really was only one way for Toa to win this challenge and she wanted to see how long it would take for the Tao Nuva to see the answer. For now though, they were just doing what she had expected. Soon after she had issued the challenge, the Toa had split up and decided to try to catch her separately. She had just shaken her head in annoyance. Pride was a sad, sad thing sometimes. So, here she was, back to square one and trekking through Ta-Wahi. What fun.

Nasukoh wanted to see what each Toa would do in their own Wahis, so in a way, this was a learning experience for her too. Or, rather, information gathering opportunity. As the Toa's (soon to be) trainer, she needed to know each of their strength and weaknesses. All of them. Not just the obvious ones. And Tahu was her first target. Although, taunting him by taking her time out in the open put her in danger of being seen by the matoran. No plan was perfect. She could only hope that he took the bait soon.

She wasn't disappointed.

"Hold it there, Trainer!" Came the voice of Tahu and Nasukoh turned around at her own pace. It seemed to annoy the Toa of Fire. She grinned.

"You want to talk Toa?" Nasukoh smiled. Obviously 'talking' was the last thing on Tahu's mind.

"I've come to make good on your promise! When I catch you, you WILL tell us how to defeat Makuta!"

Nasukoh's smile widened. "You mean 'if' you catch me Toa of Fire."

"I WILL catch you!" Tahu roared before lunging at her with his sword.

'Mata-Nui!' She thought. 'Tell him to catch me and he tries to slaughter me.'

But opponents like Tahu were easy to deal with. They took the straightforward approach. And were predictable to the point where it was almost boring. She had to give him credit for guts though.

"GAH! Hold still!" Tahu shouted angrily as Nasukoh dodged left and right, easily avoiding his blade.

"But then it's not a challenge!" She laughed as she ducked under him and flipped him over her shoulder. "And it's so much more entertaining when the fight is going in my favor."

Tahu cried out, tumbling head over heels down a slope and crashed at the bottom. On the top, Nasukoh looked down at the Fire Toa. He really did represent his element well. Spontaneous, bold, commanding presence, hot-headed and…...

"You'll pay for that!" The fully revived Tahu roared.

… Easily enraged.

"Then come and get me." Nasukoh grinned tauntingly.

Tahu didn't waste any time, charging back up the hill with fire encasing his sword. This so-called 'Toa-Trainer' would pay! NOBODY made a fool of him! At least, that's what ran through his head as he attacked Nasukoh. She easily avoided him.

"Tch!" Nasukoh clucked disapprovingly. "You're too sloppy Toa. Brute strength is good, but you have to couple it with _brains_ not bravado!" She dodged again, before swiftly throwing him off balance. "See what I mean?"

The Toa of Fire landed on his backside, which only seemed to make him angrier. But he did see what she meant. Getting angry and losing sight of your target wasn't the way to win. It only made you look stupid. He stood up and brushed himself off, trying to calm himself. Then he sighed.

"Give up?" Nasukoh grinned.

Tahu's eyes flashed defiantly. "Never!" He roared, lunging at her, but keeping his cool.

This time he could see where she was going to move before she did and he changed the direction of his swing just as she moved to dodge. He didn't even make contact. Instead, he found that his sword had been wrenched from his grip and he was stuck from the waist down in a sink-hole that had not been there previously.

"What the- !" he cried, struggling to free himself from the thick ground.

Nasukoh was watching him in amusement. "Not bad." She smirked. "Maybe there's hope for you after all, Flamethrower." She laughed heartily, stabbing Tahu's broadsword into the ground a little ways from him and walking away. "Remember, a week and this challenge is done! You'll have to step it up if you want to catch _me_! Until next time, Toa!"

With that, Nasukoh left behind an angry Fire Toa and some knowledge. Not all battles were won through strength alone. She knew that Tahu would get out eventually, but it would take awhile. And she had the feeling he would be back. Well, let him keep coming. With the way he was acting, there was just no way he had any hope of laying a finger on her.

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"That was entertaining." Nasukoh hummed to herself, as she followed the underground tunnel to who knew where. "Flame brain has a lot of growing up to do. But at least he's making progress."

One Toa down, five more to go. That was what Nasukoh was thinking. They sure didn't seem like anything special anymore. Of course, not one group of Toa ever had an easy time completing any of her challenges. So, where to next?

A large grin spread across her mask. "Be prepared, Toa of Stone. I'm coming to see what you can handle."

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**Please R+R! PLEASE!**


	8. A Wager on Day Two

**Hi! Well, I FINALLY got it up! Here's chapter eight! Please R+R!**

**I don't own Bionicle.**

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Pohatu walked cheerily through his village of Po-Koro, waving at all the matoran working. Today seemed to be another day for the matoran, but Pohatu couldn't shake the feeling that something was going to happen to him. Which is why he was going by Turaga Onewa's hut. Since that strange female seemed to know this island pretty well, he could only assume the Turaga would know something about her, what with all their secrets. He was hoping that Onewa would be able to tell him something about her.

"Turaga?" He called as he ducked though the hut's door. "I have something I need to talk about."

Onewa turned only slightly from his desk, stone tablets and such littering it. The one he'd been leaning over was quickly tucked away, causing some intrigue for the Stone Toa, but otherwise going unnoticed. "What is it, Toa of Stone? Something troubling you?"

Pohatu looked a bit sheepish. "More or less."

Onewa raised his mask ridges. "Are you and your siblings still not getting along?"

"No! I mean... we are to a point..." He caught his Turaga's look and cleared his throat, changing the subject. "But that isn't what I'm here to talk to you about."

"Oh?" Onewa smiled, guessing what his Toa would want to know, and what little information he could give him without giving too much away. Whenua had already sent word to the others as well. "Then what is on your mind?"

Pohatu wasn't sure how to explain it properly, but he did to the best of his abilities. He also expressed his and his siblings concerns about the strange visitor being one of the Makuta's tricks. Onewa listened patiently, listening to all that was said. He could understand Pohatu's worry. He and his own siblings had thought the very same things when they first encountered Nasukoh. And little did the Toa know, but they were already being taught their first lesson. The Toa Trainer of Metru-Nui was not to be underestimated.

When Pohatu had finished, Onewa stood silent. "Turaga?"

The Turaga of Stone sighed. There really wasn't much advice he could give to his village's protector, without giving away too many of the Turaga's secrets. It would be difficult, but maybe… Without a word, Onewa made his way to one of his many shelves and pulled loose a tablet from one of too many piles of history, legends, Kohlii scores and the like. On more than one occasion, Nuju had made a comment that Onewa was worse than Matau at keeping things tidy. Onewa had promptly reminded his brother that not everyone liked things as clean as a Ko-matoran would. The Turaga glanced at the tablet to make sure it was the right one before turning back to Pohatu.

"The other Turaga and I have had an encounter with this being you speak of…" Not a lie, but the next part would have to be. "Long ago, before the rahi fell to Makuta's control. It was when your legend was just beginning to be told, Toa." He handed the tablet to Pohatu. "A warrior of unknown origin, but a friend to all those who serve Mata-Nui and the Three Virtues faithfully. Of that I am sure. When she arrived on our island, she told us many things. Including your legend. It was how we came to know about the Toa."

"I see." Pohatu murmured, accepting the tablet from his Turaga. It had a legend written into it. "Then she is not originally of Mata-Nui…"

"No, she is not. Though, I wouldn't be surprised if she were, she knows the island so well." Onewa snorted.

"Thank you for your help, Turaga." Pohatu said, standing to leave. '_And for sharing some of your secrets with me._'

"One more thing, Pohatu…"

The Stone Toa turned back at the doorway. "Yes Turaga."

"When trying to catch the uncatchable, more than one head is needed." Onewa chuckled, before turning back to his desk. "Use the tablet well, Toa."

* * *

Pohatu had made his way into the desert near the canyon that he and the others had first encountered the Borohk-Kal. His eyes were glued securely to the tablet that Onewa had given him to read and what he knew now cleared up quite a few things.

'_I need to get this new information to the others._' He thought, biting his lip in worry. '_From what I've read, Nasukoh is the name of our mysterious being and she's not going to make it easy on us. According to this…_'

His thoughts were interrupted by a voice. "Something on your mind Toa?"

Pohatu whirled around, startled, only to see Nasukoh sitting on a boulder halfway up the cliff face. '_She's only ever been caught once._' He finished his thought. Outwardly, he smiled. "Nothing much, Miss trainer. Just thinking of ways to catch you."

Nasukoh raised an eye ridge. "And? Having any luck with that?"

Pohatu grinned. "Nope. But you knew that already, didn't you?"

"Hmmm, maybe." Nasukoh returned the grin. She liked the Toa of stone already. Much less rahi-headed than his predecessor. "Maybe not. I may just be fishing for information."

Pohatu's grin widened. "Then it sounds as if we were thinking along the same lines." He held up the tablet. "I've been doing a little fishing of my own."

"Then how about a little wager?"

The Toa was surprised and it showed on his mask. He hadn't been expecting this. "A wager?"

"My information against yours. I'll give you hints about myself, since you appear oh-so interested. Guess wrong three times and you lose. I walk away and nobody knows you and I ever met. Answer three right, and I lose."

"And if I _win_?"

"I'll let you catch me, no fight and no strings attached. How 'bout it?"

Pohatu couldn't believe his luck! He knew it would be difficult. He hardly knew anything about this Nasukoh! But he was willing to take the off chance that he could possibly win. And if he did…

"Fine. I accept your challenge!"

Nasukoh grinned. "Very well, hint one. I can do everything the toa can."

Pohatu frowned. "What kind of hint was that?"

"Ten seconds…"

"Wait! You didn't say anything about it being timed!"

"Seven…"

"Alright, alright! Uh….." Pohatu thought hard. Could do everything the Toa could. What could be done that he and his siblings did? The elemental powers were specifically Toa powers… what else?

"Three… Two…"

"Our mask powers! You can use our mask powers!" Pohatu cried, realization suddenly hitting him.

Nasukoh put her hand she'd been counting on down. "Ooh, cutting it close. You are correct. I can use every mask power you Toa possess. Speed, strength, x-ray, shielding, water breathing, and levitating. Plus a few of my own, which I will not mention here."

"Not big on giving things away, are you?" Pohatu rolled his eyes.

"No, not really. Good start, now, hint two!" Nasukoh leaped from her perch and landed in front of Pohatu. " As I stated before, I train Toa. And from what I've seen, you guys need A LOT of help. What would you say my biggest focus would be if I were to start training you now?"

"That's a question!"

"Time's starting!"

Pohatu was beginning to feel a little irritated. "I would have to say… Ways to defeat the Makuta?"

"Yeesh! You guys really DO need help! Wrong! That's one strike. Two to go."

'_I'm still good._' Pohatu thought to himself. '_I only have one wrong. I just can't mess up anymore._'

"Hint three."

"Shouldn't these really be called questions?"

"Stop complaining. I'm going out of my way to give you a chance!" Nasukoh was laughing inwardly. This was much more fun then she'd imagined it would be. "Now, let's see how well you've done your research. How long would you say I've been living amongst the matoran?"

Pohatu was about to answer, using the information Onewa had relayed to him, but he stopped to think about it. He wasn't entirely sure that she had even come to live here when his Turaga assumed. "Since Makuta, I would assume. There wouldn't have been need for you to be here before that…..."

"Incorrect! You really should think about the hint _before_ you answer. I just gave you a trick question. The correct answer was 'I don't live _amongst_ the matoran. In fact, they don't even know that I exist. Next!"

Pohatu frowned. Now he was at a disadvantage. One more incorrect answer and he lost. Meanwhile, he still had to answer two correctly. Still, he continued on hesitantly. "Alright. Give it to me."

Nasukoh smiled. "Here's the kicker. What special ability can produce a sand storm?"

Pohatu was taken completely by surprise. "W-what? That has nothing to do with….!" He paused and looked at Nasukoh's face. She was completely serious, and he had a feeling that she really WAS talking about something she could do.

"Five seconds…"

Pohatu panicked. "Control over the wind?"

Nasukoh grinned. "Nope, the answer is…" she put two fingers up to her mouth. " A simple whistle." And she whistled, the sound echoing through the ravine and suddenly a sandstorm had flared up, forcing Pohatu to cover his face and shield his eyes. Through the wind's howl, he could hear the Toa trainer's voice. "I'll give you one last hint, since you've been such a good sport Toa! The answer to the second question is the only way any of you will be able to win!"

And then the storm was gone along with the Toa Trainer, Nasukoh. Pohatu stood alone in the ravine, the tablet at his feet. What had she meant? The answer to the first question was… He realized, unlike the questions following it, she had never answered that one.

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Nasukoh sat on the ridge of a Po-matoran statue, looking at the setting sun. "Day two is over. Things should start getting interesting now. Hopefully the Toa of Air will put up more of a challenge."

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**Hope you all liked this chapter! I had fun thinking of ideas for Nasukoh crazy questions! I kinda feel bad for Pohatu, though. He's so nice. Pleas review!**


	9. Whispers in the Dark

**Another chapter in ONE day! I am on a ROLE! Thank you to InTheLight for helping out with ideas! Hope you all enjoy!**

**I will say it only once more. Bionicle is not mine! Xd  
**

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"Got to hurry! Have to warn the others!" Kazea repeated these words over and over, like a mantra as he ran through the icy wasteland of the north. The strong winds of the blizzard were slowing him down, but not enough to stop him. His feet crunched through the snow, the ice threatening to crack below him and swallow him up. His heartlight beat at an alarming rate, fear, rage and grief clouding his thoughts. He only had one purpose now. To find his brothers and sister and warn them.

He was losing strength fast, the icy weather and pure exhaustion taking its toll on the Original. It wasn't long before he was forced to find shelter and rest. In his desperate search, he managed to find and outcropping that had a hollow sheltered from the wind and he gratefully threw himself down on the ground, and closed his eyes. The feeling of grief overwhelmed him, and he did his best not to cry out in pure rage. It had only been a few days since he and Zenik had parted ways with the others. Only a few days and this had happened! How? Mata-Nui, _why_? The green armored being grit his teeth and reflected on what had happened. As second-in-command, Ugarah had decided that Avion needed to be found. Without any hesitation, the rest had agreed. Avion was their leader and he would do the same if any of them had gone missing. It had also been decided that they not tell Nasukoh for now. She had too much to handle right now.

Now that the Seeker reflected on it, they should have told her. She would have known what to do in this situation. Shortly after the decision had been made, they'd split into groups. Ugarah and Tarusoh had gone to search the south and he and Zenick, the north. Now it was only him. Kazea felt a shiver of fear race up his spine. It was a feeling he wasn't used to. He was the reckless one. The fearless one. The one that could laugh at any challenge in the face before taking it head on. And here he was, shivering in the snow like a terrified matoran! Desperately, Kazea tried to erase the thoughts from his mind. The piercing purple eyes and cold, cruel laugh that could best Makuta's. They struck the deepest terror into his heart. And now, he had Zenick. And there was no doubt in his mind that he had Avion also.

"What's the matter, Original? Too tired to run anymore?" An amused hiss whispered in the dark.

Kazea didn't have time to answer before he was suddenly thrown against the wall, the ice cracking from the force of his impact. Then, there was an amazing amount of pressure placed on his chest and he was forced to struggle for breath as the being above him sneered at his prey. Cold eyes glittered with glee as he watched Kazea struggle to free himself, before he leaned down and grabbed the Original by the throat and slammed him against the wall once more.

"I'm taking it you didn't miss me, brother?"

"You're no brother of mine, Harim!" Kazea snarled, despite his fear and lack of breath. "You traitorous piece of Muaka- HACK!" His insult was cut short when the being known as Chronis tightened his grip around Kazea's throat.

"I'd watch my mouth, Kazea. You're not in the most… forgiving position at the moment." And the last thing Kazea heard before passing out from lack of air was Harim's cruel laughter echoing over the frozen wasteland.

* * *

"C'mon… Just a little more…" Lewa, Toa of Air muttered to himself as he watched Nasukoh pass below him.

He'd heard that she had managed to best Tahu and Pohatu and so he was excited when he found her tromping around in his swampy home of Le-Wahi. He'd been watching her all day, tracking her and setting up his trap. Certainly he could do much better than his Toa Brothers! All it took was knowledge of the land and a little trap-plan. She certainly wasn't very aware of her surroundings, this Nasukoh. Or the Toa of Air was really good at camouflage. Lewa liked this idea much better and he smiled cheerily to himself.

'_Look at me! Lewa the track-finder!_' He shifted slightly, trying to relieve the cramp forming in his leg. He'd been crouching on this branch for quite some time now, watching and trying to keep still. Something he wasn't very good at. He was meant to fly free and high, like the element he controlled! But it was worth it, if it meant that he could catch this Trainer and know how to defeat the Makuta. And showing his siblings that he could very well take care of himself! He grabbed a vine. '_Let's sight-see Kopaka or Tahu do THIS!_' Without a second thought, the Toa of Air launched himself from his perch with a cry and sailed through the air, aiming to grab at the being below him.

Nasukoh sighed to herself as she stepped a few centimeters to the side and watched as the Air Toa whizzed past her a look of absolute surprise on his face. She cringed slightly when the young Toa smacked mask first into a tree that was in his way and land heavily on the ground. Chuckling, Nasukoh strolled over to him as if she had not a care in the world. She crouched in front of him, letting him stare at her from his back on the ground.

"A word to the wise, Toa," She grinned down at him, quite enjoying herself. Air Toa were so straightforward that they were almost completely predictable. "When performing a sneak attack, crying out and announcing your presence isn't always the best thing to do. In fact, you should avoid it altogether!"

Lewa stumbled to his feet, rubbing his mask where it had collided with the tree. "You thought-knew…" He said absently. "You thought-knew I was there the entire time!"

"Pretty much."

"Stone Brother wasn't lying then." Lewa grinned, unphased.

"Lying? Huh, news travels fast on this island."

She dodged just as Lewa came barreling at her again. "Typical. Impatient and stubborn. Not a very good combination." She dodged to another side and stuck one leg out, sending Lewa sprawling again. "Charging at the opponent only works for so long, and even then, it only works against opponents less intelligent than yourself."

Lewa got up again, spitting out a mouthful of swampy soil. Nasukoh continued with a large smile plastered to her mask. "And if I were you, I wouldn't lay traps where they were obvious." Just as she said it, Lewa found himself hanging upside down, caught in his own snare. He watched in absolute awe as Nasukoh walked away, her laughs echoing through the trees as she went.

'_Where to next?_' She thought to herself, when the Toa of Air was out of sight. '_Suppose Ga-Wahi IS closest..._' She smiled. '_Gali it is then._'

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**And that ends the encounter with Lewa!**

**Can the Toa of Water put up a better fight?**

**Stay tuned to find out! lol**

**Please R+R! Your reviews are greatly appreciated!  
**


	10. Girl Talk

**Hello all! I am really on a role this week! Again, thanks goes to ITL for this idea. And thank you to all my reviewers!**

**Disclaimer: It's never gonna change...**

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Nasukoh was taking it slow. During the day, Ga-Matoran littered the bay working on their various projects. And Toa Gali spent most of her time in the sea. When she wasn't fighting Makuta's threats, of course. So, Nasukoh was forced to wait. Not that she minded or anything. It gave her a break and a chance to enjoy her surroundings. Messing with the Toa was fun and everything, but sometimes, even an Original needed some downtime. Up on the cliff ledge where she was hiding, Nasukoh rolled away from the edge and onto her back, enjoying the sun. It felt nice, especially with the salty breeze blowing across her armor. Now that she had this moment, she took the opportunity to think. For some reason lately, her thoughts had never left her brothers. Something was not right.

But she had no reason to worry, right? She had _just_ seen Ugarah. And he'd been with Avion not too long before that. Which meant that everything should be fine. Avion was their leader and Ugarah their second in command. They were the two finest warriors that she knew. They could handle anything that came their way! It's why she looked up to her brothers so much. And then there was Zenik. He was gentle giant with a hidden temper and a loyalty unlike any she had any seen. He was strong, compassionate and could handle himself in a fight against some of the strongest threats they'd ever faced. He could handle himself. Kazea _was_ a little reckless, but that was what made him such a good fighter. Not to mention his passion for fun and humor kept them from ever getting too serious. Not unlike the Toa of Air. Then Tarusoh, the youngest, was absent from reality a lot, but he was not to be bested at inventions and logical thinking. He kept them on track when they would stray from the rails.

There should be no reason to feel so worried for them. Or so she tried to convince herself. It wasn't working very well. With an agitated sigh, she sat up and pulled herself into a cross legged position. She folded her arms and stared out at the horizon, approximately where Tarusoh's home island would be located some millions of miles away. She hadn't visited the brainiac in such a long time….. Maybe when this whole thing was over…? She was immediately pulled from her thoughts when a soft sound was heard on the ledge above her.

"I know you're there Toa of Water." She chuckled. "You don't have to sneak…"

Gali immediately dropped down, looking slightly embarrassed. "I –I apologize for intruding."

Nasukoh didn't glance at her, instead keeping her focus on the horizon. Wanton thoughts of her brothers still floating in the back of her mind. "The point _is_ to catch me by any means possible. Giving away your position isn't smart. If I were an enemy, you'd probably be dead."

"I realize that." Gali replied softly, choosing to sit by the Original, rather than try her hand at capturing the being. "I just saw you from the sea and I thought you looked… troubled."

A bitter grin pulled at the corners of Nasukoh's lips. "That obvious, huh?"

"So you are troubled." Gali frowned. "Is it something to do with Makuta?"

Nasukoh rolled her eyes. "If it were about that rahi head, then I wouldn't be this calm." And that was the truth. " I'm worried about things you Toa have no knowledge of."

"And I am guessing it is knowledge we are not to have." The Toa of Water's voice was full of suspicion.

"One day, maybe." Nasukoh's grin turned to a genuine one. "One step at a time though, Toa. Surely you can do better than your brothers."

Now it was Gali's turn to be careful. "I try not to hold myself above my brothers. We were created to be equal. Just different." The Toa of Water was suddenly very passionate about what she was saying. "Yet sometimes I am led to think that I am the only one who is truly trying to make this team work! Unity, Duty, Destiny! Are those not the virtues that the matoran uphold? My brothers believe that they can perform their duties and fulfill their destinies without Unity! It was through _Unity_ that we were able to defeat the Borohk at all! Why can they not _see_ that?"

Nasukoh sat there quietly, listening to Gali's woes. It was some time after the Toa of Water had finished that she finally said anything. "I feel for you, Gali. I do. You seem to be the only Toa to really get it."

Gali looked at her critically. "Get it?"

Nasukoh just gave her a knowing smile before standing. "However, my challenge still holds. And your day is almost over. You may miss your chance to learn about the Makuta."

Gali had risen as well. "I wonder about that. Can it really be so simple? That you can just _tell_ us how to defeat the Makuta?"

Nasukoh smiled. "I'll tell you what, Gali. I like you. You have a good head on your shoulders, and you really do seem to be the only Toa who really gets it. You have potential." She suddenly shifted into a fighting stance. "But it doesn't matter how much I like your character. I stand by my word. Not one hint about the Makuta from me unless you catch me. But I'll give you some advice." Gali had sunk into her own stance and the two females circled each other on the narrow ledge. "You can't force things to go your way. A lot of the time, you have to find a middle ground."

At just that moment, Nasukoh charged, pushing the startled Toa from the ledge to land in the sea fifteen or so feet below. The entire time she'd been keeping the Toa of Water's attention with her words, she'd led her to stand along the edge by circling. It was a trick the Toa of Water would not forget and one she would even use in the future. Nasukoh watched the Toa resurface and waited for her to look up before giving a cheery wave and disappearing.

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**I had a lot of fun with this conversation. I felt it was due time that there was a little 'Girl Talk' in here. ^.^ More to come!**

**Please review and let me know what you think.**


	11. Looks like a Blizzard is Brewing

**So, yes. I realize I haven't updated in quite awhile, but I HAVE been busy. Any way, I figured I'd make it up to all my faithful reviewers and give them some Kopaka! Here it is. Enjoy. Or don't. Your choice.**

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The cold ice caps of Mt. Ihu were traditionally described by the matoran outside its region as 'inhospitable', much like the matoran who lived on its slopes. And yet, this is where Kopaka, Toa Nuva of Ice, considered 'home.' It was his home as much as the Ko-matoran he protected and with his Nuva powers, he was certain he could protect Ko-Koro's inhabitants with no help at all. What did he need the others for, other than the occasional run in with the Makuta? Nothing. Nothing at all. He had a plan, and he was positive it would work, despite what Pohatu had said. As his feet crunched through the thick snow drifts, his mind wandered to the conversation that Pohatu had forced upon him only hours before.

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"_Please tell me why this is important, Pohatu…" Kopaka demanded icily, his pace never slowing and forcing the Toa of Stone to struggle through the snowy drifts and over patches of ice._

"_Well, brother…" Pohatu panted as he struggled to keep up. "If you would stop and listen for a few moments…"_

_Kopaka turned an icy gaze on him. "This had better be important, Toa of Stone. I have work to do."_

_Pohatu rolled his eyes. "Don't we all? But work can wait! Look, I just had a run in with Nasukoh and –"_

"_Who?"_

"_Nasukoh. The being who says she can show us how to beat the Makuta!"_

"_Right. You really do believe everything you hear, don't you? I suppose that bit about being a Toa trainer put your guard down! Really, Pohatu! You can't believe everything you hear –"_

"_She is a Toa Trainer…"_

_Kopaka blinked at the absolute conviction in his brother's voice. "Excuse me?"_

"_She __**IS**__ a Toa trainer. And apparently she's been on the island much longer than we have!"_

"_Huh…" That would explain why she was able to best Gali, he supposed. If this 'Trainer' had been on the island before them, it only made sense that she would have been observing them as well. He'd have to watch out for that. "Alright, so she told the truth."_

"_Yes! And because nobody has been able to catch her, it brings back the question with the riddles she gave me." Pohatu was still stuck on the one, unanswered question. Just what was the answer to 'Her biggest focus?'_

"_Correction, Pohatu." Kopaka cut in, his icy voice leaving no room to protest at the interruption. "Nobody has been able to catch her … yet."_

"_Kopaka! Just listen for a moment! I just had a run in with her. Yes, for the second time. Although I didn't bother trying to catch her again. She really didn't seem to be in the best of moods. But she said something I think may be able to help us! I don't think she meant to say it, but –"_

"_You're starting to sound like Lewa, the way you carry on like that."_

"_Can I finish, please!"_

"_Not if you carry on in that manner."_

_Pohatu sighed. His frosty brother had no patience when it came to others, whatsoever. It was something he seemed to have in common with Tahu, but Pohatu kept that to himself. He was sure it would get him into trouble if he said it out loud. "Well, long story short, she said that Toa were nothing if they couldn't think as one. What do you suppose she meant by that?"_

"_Sounds like our sister and her Unity fixation to me." Kopaka grumbled. This was really a waste of time._

"_But that's just it!" Pohatu exclaimed. "After I received the tablet from Turaga Onewa, he said that 'more than one head is needed!' I think we're missing a big part of this puzzle!"_

"_There is no puzzle." Kopaka said shortly. "Only a very annoying bug that has yet to be caught."_

"_But there's only two days until the challenge is over and –"_

"_And it will have been completed by then. She will not best me in my own domain. No matter __**HOW**__ long she has been on this island."_

"_So I suppose you have some sort of plan?"_

"_If one is necessary, yes. And it doesn't involve getting caught in my own snare." He turned without another word and continued on, the conversation now pointless and a waste of time by his standards. "If you wish to chat, seek out Toa Lewa. He's good at that."_

_Pohatu watched in aggravation as the Ice Toa disappeared among the white of the mountain. He really didn't understand. Or maybe he did and just chose to ignore it. Pohatu couldn't be sure. Nasukoh wasn't an enemy that needed to be brought down. Neither he nor Tahu seemed to completely understand that. Or maybe it was he, Pohatu, who was worried without good reason. He hoped so. Because it was only a matter of time before they would find out. With a frustrated sigh, the amber Toa turned and prepared to re-struggle his way back to Po-Wahi._

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Kopaka suddenly stopped, his armored feet inches away from a yawning pit in the mountain's side. He hadn't even realized where he had been walking, his thoughts far from his surroundings. In annoyance he shook his head to clear it. It was ridiculous, how much one worry could shake him up like this. He didn't get distracted. He _shouldn't_ get distracted. Not by something like this. There wasn't any way that this Nasukoh would best him at his own game. He just needed to make sure he didn't wind up playing her game. That was a game he would be walking into blindly.

Kopaka narrowed his eyes against the gale that suddenly swept over the mountain side, snowflakes and fine ice powder being pulled in it wake. While not uncommon in his icy domain, this wind seemed… Slightly out of place. Or maybe it wasn't and he had just been unable to convince himself that there was nothing to worry about. While all he had told Pohatu, he held to be true, he still couldn't shake the feelings he'd had when they'd first seen her. There was far more underneath that smiling face than she was willing to show. It wasn't a feeling that called for distrust… Rather a feeling that moved him to be … What? He wasn't sure. He just knew that she held secrets. And he was going to get those secrets from her, whether she wanted to share them or not.

Unlike his Turaga, who he sometimes wished he could coerce the secrets from, he could hit her. He had too much respect for his Turaga to do anything to harm Nuju. She, however, was a stranger and was fair game. It was only a matter of time before she would come to his realm as she had his brothers and sister. And when that time came, he would not hesitate to act.

A shadow on top of a ridge caught his eye. An unfamiliar one that was hard to make out past the wind and snow, but Kopaka had never been more sure of who it was. He watched the shadow disappear, the scope over his left eye whirring in and out to bring the figure into focus. A small, unbidden smile crossed his face. He had been right, and without another word, the Toa of Ice followed quietly after the receding shape.

"Looks like your game is about to end, Trainer."

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**Okay. Please r+r. Your opinions/ideas/reviews have all been very helpful to me! That's the truth! I SWEAR!  
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	12. Close to a Challenge

**Sorry for the (long) wait everyone. School's been insane and I have midterms coming up. hardly any time to write and hardly ANY inspiration! This is mostly to let you guys know that, yes, I am indeed still alive. For the most part. Well, enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don't own and you don't sue.**

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Nasukoh felt the snow crunch beneath her feet, heard the wind howl in her ears and even registered the below freezing temperatures on some level of her thought process, but it didn't matter. Not even the snow and ice shards pelting the shield she had thrown around herself mattered. The nagging thoughts for her brothers scattered across the territories had finally escalated into full blown worry. While she hadn't been able to quell the small irrational fears days before, she now felt _positive_ that something was wrong and now it absolutely refused to leave her alone! While it was natural for her to go months (years from time to time) without contact from Avion, Ugarah, or Tarusoh, it was _impossible_ for her to get a week worth of rest without _some_ kind of contact from Kazea or Zenick! Mata-Nui! Those two practically _lived_ to annoy her in some way! Not that she really minded. They kept things light when it was stressful and she was grateful for Zenick's strong, yet kind nature and Kazea's borderline infuriating sense of humor. It was what made them… well… _them_!

And it had been two weeks since she'd had contact with either of them. And it worried her to no end. By the Pit, she could barely concentrate on the task at hand! They just _had_ to decide to worry her at the most _inconvenient_ of times! Just when the Toa were on their way and her time was preoccupied with more stressful events, they had to go and throw this worry on top of it!

Nasukoh stopped walking and sighed, suddenly angry at herself. She was berating her brothers, but they didn't mean to make her worry so much. They didn't deserve the unfair anger she was directing at them. So what if they hadn't contacted her? They had their own territories to worry and fret over. Something may have come up that demanded all their attention. It was selfish of her to want them to break away from their own problems, if only to contact her. After all, she should be making the effort to contact them herself from time to time. She sighed again and did her best to push the worrisome thoughts out of her mind, but also making a mental note to go trudging through Kazea's jungle island some time to find him. And then it would be off to Zenick's caves where she would most likely avoid the ash-bear sized hug to prevent any injuries. The guy was loveable and all, but he was so _big_ and so _strong_ and he tended to forget that when he was happy. Which was most of the time. The guy was just one happy person in general. And slightly over-protective of his siblings. Or maybe that was too much of an understatement…

Something (she wasn't quite sure what it was, but was grateful for it all the same) suddenly snapped her out of her reverie just as a blade came down on the spot she had previously been occupying, burying itself in the snow. Nasukoh just stared at the weapon, having back flipped out of the way by reflex. Her mind was still trying to shift gears and she stood slack for a moment, processing what had just happened. Her mind snapped back into focus just as another blade flew through the blinding snow and wind, burying itself almost entirely to the hilt within the ice encased rock inches from her face. She frowned in irritation.

'_Just how many __**rahi heads**__ on this island hear the word __**catch**__ and take it to mean __**brutally slaughter**__?' _She thought in annoyance, turning her head slightly to see the Toa of Ice walk easily through the storm. Her frown turned into a scowl.

"You have something against me or something?" She spat, her anger easily picked out from her tone.

Kopaka wasn't fazed. Then again, she wasn't expecting him to be. "Not so friendly this time around." He said as an answer, suspicion lacing his words.

Nasukoh couldn't help the roll of her tangerine eyes. "Oh please! You wouldn't be happy either, if you were minding your own business, thinking to yourself, and then you're suddenly jumping from flying swords that barely miss you! Yeah. Go ahead and tell me that I'm gonna be friendly!"

Kopaka ignored the small rant. "This game ends today, stranger." And tat was all he said before he was launching himself at her, his feet easily traveling across the top of the snow.

Nasukoh dropped her shield, letting the soft glow fade as the storm pelted her with ice and snow. She easily ignored the small distraction, having traveled through numerous storms before. As Kopaka closed in on her, she sidestepped, and spun to face him. Her eyes slightly widened in some surprise, seeing the Ice Toa stand with both his swords. He'd managed to apply Nasukoh's own strategy on her, distracting her with a false attack to move her out of the way so that he could easily retrieve his weapons. She grinned. Maybe _this_ Toa would provide her with a challenge.

"Well, well." She smirked, her voice surprisingly audible over the howling wind. "A Toa who thinks quick on his feet. I guess this island will continue to surprise me."

Kopaka scowled, tired of the talk although there had been little amount of it. He knew what she was doing. And it would not work. Ignoring her taunts he took a slight step to the side and lowered into a fighting stance. Using half his concentration, he willed the storm to become more violent around them, kicking more snow and ice into the air. Nasukoh (for the first time in a long time) was forced to cover her eyes as the wind blew snow into her face. She called upon her mask power to create a thin veil around her form, imitating the shield from earlier, minus the glow. She pulled her arms away and whistled, pleasantly surprised.

'_He's clever. Most Ice toa are, but he's good._'

Kopaka Nuva had made the storm into an almost completely white wall of snow and debris. While it was only snow, it camouflaged the toa, his armor blending into his environment. On the other hand, Nasukoh's purple armor stuck out like a sore thumb. And thanks to the howling of the wind, she couldn't stop and listen for him. Her mind worked quickly as her eyes patiently scanned the storm for signs of movement or something that would give away the Toa's position. Nothing. Yet. The Original dipped into her own stance. She had come to the conclusion that she would just have to wait for the Toa's attack. Which would come soon… Ice Toa could be patient, true, but this one was… Extremely cocky. Or extremely egotistical. That sounded far more accurate.

Despite the freezing winds that howled and swirled around her, everything seemed oddly silent. But she knew he was out there. Watching her just as intently as she was searching for him… Which was what struck a thought deep in head. Even though he was a Toa of Ice, didn't mean he could see through solid sheets of snow and ice. Not by his elemental power alone. She grinned and slowly allowed the power of her own mask to stretch and grab hold of his mask power.

'_Sometimes, I __**LOVE**__ having a Mask of Imitation!_' She smirked to herself as the power of X-Ray vision flickered to life, suddenly allowing her to stare through the thick snow and ice. _There he was!_ She caught sight of him just as he seemed to realize something was going on. Kopaka was standing far closer than she had expected and it took her slightly off guard. It was enough of a distraction for him to lunge and tackle her to the snow, the storm calming somewhat to give him less of a distraction.

At first, Nasukoh was startled when she was suddenly flying backwards, the Ice Toa's hands gripping her shoulders and pushing her with his momentum. But momentum could be used to her advantage as well, and as soon as her back felt the cold ice of the snow under it, she tucked her knees and used that very momentum Kopaka had created to somersault with him and push him away. As the momentum faded, she used the last of it to roll herself back into a fighting stance as Kopaka did the same. She narrowed her eyes, only a shred of her previous humor remaining. This Toa demanded absolute seriousness from her. Which wasn't hard to muster. She was in no mood to be funny anyway, with the worries of her brothers still flitting in the back of her mind. So when he lunged again, she was prepared for it.

Just before he collided with her, she twisted, one arm shooting forward to seize one arm of the startled Toa of Ice and pull him along with her until she'd spun a complete circle and slammed him into one of the icy walls that surrounded the small chasm they currently resided in. It was hard enough to make stars dance in his eyes and stun him, but not enough to seriously harm him. She sighed in irritation before crouching in front of him and belting some more words of wisdom. She sincerely hoped Kopaka took these words to heart.

"Sometimes," She said softly, but still managed to be heard over the storm. "Pride can blind just as thoroughly as the thickest storm."

Just as Kopaka stood shakily to his feet, his ego demanding revenge for the seemingly easy beaten he's gotten, she was gone. And no matter how much his scope zoomed in and out, or the power of his mask utilized, he couldn't find another trace of her.

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**Well, hope you guys enjoyed. Not one of my BEST works but, meh. Please R&R. **


	13. Last Stop

**Oh ... my ... Primus! I really have been bad! This is SOOOOO late and I know it! Blame the plot bunny! It ran away! I had to hunt the glitched thing down! Hope this kinda compensates. I shall try to get back to this ASAP. No guarantees. Life is being... well... yeah. University life is busy.**

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"I have a bad feeling…" Tarusoh muttered, his fingers twitching nervously at his sides as his eyes darted to each shadow that wasn't filtered by the evening light in the jungle. The humidity did little to offer comfort to him, although it resembled the pressure of his own climate.

Ugarah ignored his little brother, in no mood to quell his fears. Under any other circumstances, he would have pushed his brother's worries to the back of his head with a well placed comforting word of assurance or a glance of irritation. However, he wasn't feeling very well himself. They both had noticed that their 'connections' to their brothers had suddenly cut off, while leaving only each others and the faint thrum of Nasukoh's connections. Neither Avion, Kazea nor Zenik could be detected within their psyches. And it had the two of them on edge. In a vain hope that they had misinterpreted something and that there was a natural answer for the missing connections, the two had traveled back to the jungle they had originally left just days before. If they had been hoping to see Kazea and Zenick sitting there and tossing good natured jabs back and forth, they were sorely disappointed. Nothing awaited them in the small clearing aside from the stone meeting table, vines creeping up its sides and six, roughly shaped stone chairs surrounding its circular shape. It was eerily quiet as the two Originals, younger and older, stood in absolute silence, each wrapped in their own worrisome thoughts.

"I have a bad feeling…" Tarusoh repeated quietly, his normally cheery and inquiring voice muted with worry.

This time, Ugarah couldn't ignore it, his Mask of Telepathy allowing his brother's chain of thoughts to break in on his own. It was unavoidable with the bonds he had with his brothers and sister. His mask would automatically reach out to find the problem and thoughts would flow into his own head, undeterred. He hated it when that happened. And he especially hated it now. Each thought his mask snagged from Tarusoh's head only showed worse images as the youngest Original imagined what fate may have befallen their brothers, each thought worse than the last.

"Stop that!" Ugarah snapped, seizing his brother's shoulders to shake him from his self-forced nightmares.

Tarusoh smiled weakly, his apology for worrying his brother further. While the black armored Original may seem composed to outsiders, Tarusoh could sense the strain of his own emotions through their connection. "Sorry…" He muttered.

Ugarah gave his brother a hard and stern stare. "Nothing will happen to them."

_But what if something already has?_

Another thought, again from Tarusoh. Ugarah shook his head, hands still firmly grasping his brother's shoulders. "Nothing will happen to them!" He repeated sternly. "They're fighters. They'll find a way to contact us."

Tarusoh nodded meekly, his fingers still twitching at his sides. A nervous habit he'd developed after years of building and creating and inventing and researching. If he wasn't building he couldn't remain calm. Or rather, calm enough for a situation like this. It didn't help that he was _listening_ to his older brother, but not _hearing_. He didn't need to. Because he already knew.

Ugarah was trying to convince himself as much as Tarusoh. They'd been through situations like this before. They had gotten through them. They could get through this as well… Couldn't they?

The silver armored Original hadn't been aware that had been a thought until his brother responded to it out loud. "We will. We always do." There was a pause as Ugarah turned to think. "But not like this." He began to pace across the clearing, his eyes darting every so often at the empty table, to Tarusoh and then to the ground in his path. Tarusoh crouched and watched his brother as he made his way across going one way and then came back. And again. And again. He wouldn't say anything though. He knew better than to interrupt Ugarah when was thinking this deeply.

But as time dragged on, he became impatient. The sun had long set from early evening to twilight and then from twilight to night. And still Ugarah was pacing. Finally, he couldn't take it. As a scientist, he knew the importance of patience, but in a situation like this, he couldn't help but feel that time was short. "You never finished your thought…" He muttered sullenly.

"Hm?" Ugarah inquired, distracted. He'd stopped pacing though, which meant he was at least listening.

"I said 'you never finished your thought.'" Tarusoh repeated firmly, his annoyance poorly masked by his attempt to seem unconcerned.

Ugarah frowned, but not because of Tarusoh's tone. "No, I suppose I didn't, but which thought are you referring to exactly?"

"You know which one."

There was a pause as Ugarah picked up on Tarusoh's thought process. "Ah. When  
I said 'Not like this.' I simply meant that we can't be divided like this anymore, although that was certainly not our intention." He raised an eye ridge at his brother's cocked head, confusion alight in his eyes. Ugarah grinned, though it was a tired expression. "For a scientist and a quick thinker, you sure can be slow sometimes."

Tarusoh pouted, knowing full well his brother was teasing him, but felt insulted nonetheless. "Not funny."

"We split up. We all knew from past experience that splitting into teams was risky and all of our instincts screamed against any such risk this time, but we ignored it." Another pause, but this on was heavy, almost dreading. "And we kept Nasukoh out of it."

If Tarusoh's mask could actually pale in color, it would be completely white about now. A sinking feeling was growing in his stomach. "W-we're gonna…" He swallowed past the nervous lump in his throat. "Have to tell her… aren't we."

A statement, not a question. Ugarah sighed, not liking the idea of this any more than Tarusoh did. He was just immensely better at hiding his unease than his brother. "Yeah. She needs to know."

"Why we all opted to leave her out of it in the first place, I really have no idea." The scientist continued. " I mean, yeah she has new Toa to train, but we should have at least _told_ her."

"What's done is done." A second sigh. "Let's get going."

"Huh? Where?"

Ugarah glanced back at his silver brother. "To the island named for our creator, of course."

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Onua, Toa of Earth sighed as he treaded carefully over the caved in rocks that were now being cleared out for another attempt at building the new tunnel to Ta-Wahi. The cave in had happened had happened quickly, but he was immensely relieved that not a single matoran had been harmed. A scratch on an arm or mask here or there, but nothing serious. Now he was going back to find the issue of the cave in and possibly find a way to work around it and prevent another one. It didn't take long to find the site where the cave in had started. He leaned down to touch the problem piece of wood that had been used as a support beam, noticing that where it had cracked it was slightly rotted. Not on the outside, which was probably why it was overlooked in the first place, but towards the middle of the thick beam. As the matoran had continued digging, the immense weight pushing on it from above must have finally become too much. Onua shook his head, but only in relief. It was simple things such as these that lost lives, but there weren't many ways to avoid them. He was a Toa, for sure, but even Toa couldn't predict simple mistakes or not-so-easy-to-see mistakes. Well, that was the beauty of being a miner. Nothing was for certain.

Finally done inspecting the destroyed support, he began shifting rocks so that he could clear the tunnel for a second attempt to expand it. When he'd cleared enough away, he was forced to cover his eyes as a bright light shone from above. It took a few painful moments for his eyes to readjust, but when they did, he could only huff in exasperation. Beyond the broken pillar, the roof of the cave had completely collapsed, leaving an open passageway to the surface. Meaning the tired matoran would have to start building a second tunnel _around_ this one if they wanted to stretch to Ta-Wahi. And they would want to. It would allow better relations between the Wahis and Onu-Matoran were determined. Once they'd started a project, they always finished it. Unless something absolutely impossible to overcome came along. In which case, they would turn to their Toa or simply let the project sit until they came up with a logical solution. This was one of those cases.

'_Even so…_' Onua thought, looking up into the painfully bright light as flecks of snow drifted into the darker cavern. '_There's a long way to go before we reach Ta-Wahi. We're only halfway there if Ko-Wahi is above._'

Onua was pulled from his thoughts by shuffling from above and he immediately tensed, silently pulling his earth shock drills to bear, ready for an attack. What he got instead was a very surprised, very _annoyed_ Toa of Ice as he fell through the gaping yawning in the earth and into the Toa of Earth's startled arms. Onua very nearly avoided dropping his brother as he took several stumbling steps back to keep from being flung backwards. Instead, he landed on his rear with a loud grunt as Kopaka landed atop him before rolling off and to the side. A few moments were used to calm beating hearts and get a grip on what had just happened in under a few seconds.

"Nice of you to drop in brother." Onua grinned, standing and offering a hand to his to the Toa of ice still sprawled on the floor of the cave.

Kopaka ignored and stood on his own, earning a quiet sigh from Onua as he brushed himself off. After inspecting his armor for anything out of place from the unexpected fall, he glared at the Toa of Earth. "What, in Mata-Nui's name, were you thinking creating a hole in my path?"

"Wasn't me, brother." Onua frowned, pointing out the rotted support. "Cave in. And how was I supposed to know that you would be passing above?"

Kopaka felt a deep frown begin on his normally stoic face and he sighed. Onua was right. It wasn't his fault he hadn't seen the hole in the first place. It wasn't his fault that Nasukoh had gotten away or that it made him so irritated. Or that there had been a cave in at the most inopportune time. That didn't mean he was going to apologize.

"What were you doing building tunnels this far out?"

"We're trying to connect Ta-Wahi with Onu-Wahi." Onua explained easily, ready to leave it at that.

"Why?"

Onua smirked. "Something bothering you ice brother? You're not normally this… conversational."

Kopaka's frown deepened as he realized that Onua was right. Was he really that bothered about being shown up by the so-called trainer? He knew the answer to that although pride refused to let him admit it aloud. Yes, yes he was. The realization made him instantly shut his mouth and let whatever other comments he'd been about to let leave his tongue die. Beside him, Onua sighed audibly. Given his brothers' previous reactions over the last week, it wasn't hard to guess what had happened. It was obvious that Kopaka had come up against their mysterious friend and had lost. A dealt blow to his pride that wouldn't abate until he was able to prove he was better.

It was then that Onua noticed that something was different. Not, that it was a bad thing. The pressure in the tunnel just seemed to increase. Aside from what little light filtered in through the large pit in the ceiling, the tunnel was still exceptionally dark. Though it normally would have little effect on his eye sight, being accustomed to the dark as he was, the Toa of Earth felt a little pang of excitement in his heart. He turned, getting the feeling that something was about to happen.

Behind him, Kopaka had fallen silent, but he was far from oblivious to his own heightened growing apprehension. An apprehension he had been anticipating, though not quite so soon. With a quick glance at his Earthen brother he pulled his weapons free and smiled. Two on one. Not bad odds at all. Although he preferred working on his own, he would admit he _did_ have use of his brothers and sister at times.

"It would appear as if you have a visitor other than me in your realm, Onua."

"So it would seem…" Onua replied, standing taller and watching for the smallest of movement in the darkness as he called into it. "Show yourself, Trainer. I know what you come for."

There was shift in the air neither Toa caught as something dropped from the ceiling to land between them. In the thin light trickling in from the ceiling, a purple armored being stood tall, proud and grinning as if she hadn't a care in the world. "Take away all the fun, why don't you."

Onua spun around to face her, weapons at the ready while Kopaka sunk into a fighting stance. Nasukoh rolled her eyes. "Now here I thought Toa were all about being 'fair'." She grinned, crossing her arms across her armor. "Two on one odds… That just doesn't seem fair at all."

"Like it matters." Kopaka replied coldly. "You have no problem facing us one at a time. Dealing with two should hardly be an issue…" He paused. "Unless you're a coward, hiding behind bravado."

Nasukoh sighed, but her eyes shone with mirth. "Still miffed about yesterday, are we Toa of Ice? Don't be a poor sport."

"This isn't a game."

"Oh, but to my recollection, you seemed to think so not six days ago." Her grin turned into an amused smile. "Not having so much fun now are you?"

Kopaka lunged without a second thought, startling both Onua and the Toa Trainer. Nasukoh dodged just in time, recovering her shock quickly, leaving the white armored Toa to stop short before he bowled into the black armored Onua. He looked so angry, so absolutely… murderous. Nasukoh couldn't help herself.

"For a Toa that's supposed to react to very little and keep a cool head, you sure do have a temper as bad as Tahu Nuva's."

Oh, the look she received and the very startled Onua's yelp as Kopaka nudged his side was enough to have any being rolling in hysterics. However, she was not allowed that luxury. No, she would have to suffer her mirth in silence. Oh well, she knew how this was going to go. Kopaka was circling her, keeping a close eye on her. Onua had braced himself for a fight, picking up on his Ice Brother's mood. Something had happened apparently and Kopaka was not one to forgive so easily. Not to mention, there was still that test…

Nasukoh kept part of her mind on Kopaka while she focused on Onua. The Toa of Earth certainly was something of a powerhouse, his mask being solely for strength and his powerful ebony body standing tall and ready like the very Earth he represented. He seemed to have a good head on his shoulders, smart, cautious and compassionate. She was beginning to notice that a lot of them had good leadership skills, sans the Air Toa Lewa.

"Hello, Toa of Earth. I do believe this is the second time we've met."

Onua gave her an odd look. Apparently conversation had been the last thing he was expecting. He nodded. "Yes, your first appearance was somewhat, well, short."

"Yes, it was, wasn't it?" She said cheerfully, fully aware that Kopaka was now behind her, ready to spring. "And the challenge I gave you, well… I must say I'm rather disappointed. I'd expected much better. Especially from _others_." The slight was clear. She was taunting Kopaka. And she was being blatant about it too.

No wonder Kopaka was in a foul mood. Onua could see the sudden tense of his jaw and the cold glint of his eyes from here. Ouch. One thing that he and the others had learned (although Tahu seemed to care not at all) was that you never insulted the Toa of Ice and expected to get away scott free. Pride had a funny effect on many that way. It happened too fast for Onua to be able to react. Kopaka was diving forward, blades at the ready and prepared to swing when Nasukoh was suddenly not there. The surprise of Kopaka was mirrored on Onua's face as Toa of Ice collided with Toa of Earth and was thrown backwards. Onua scrambled to regain his footing, his arms flinging out to the sides and waving to retain his balance and keep his brother and himself from tumbling into the pile of rubble from the collapsed tunnel.

And Nasukoh was there again, a finger prodding him hard in the shoulder and he lost all chances. He stumbled backwards the last few steps, his back hitting the rocks and stones with a crash. His head collided hard and he saw stars and black dots across his field of vision. He groaned in pain, clutching at the back of his head as his vision cleared. At first he noticed the distinct lack of Toa Trainer. Then, the grunting mass of silver Toa getting unsteadily to his feet. Onua sighed and winced. "Well that went well."

Kopaka ignored him, glaring icily into the darkness. He seemed to be calculating something, giving Onua the chance to stand and check over for anything serious. Other than the bump on the back of his head. When he looked back up, Kopaka seemed to have regained composure and had turned to stare at him. Same old neutral expression, same old Kopaka.

"We need to gather." He said evenly, giving Onua a start. Kopaka? Wanting to gather with the others? That was… not normal.

Onua was left staring, dumbstruck, as Kopaka walked away, the only sound signaling his departure the echoes of his armored feet against the cavern walls.


	14. Let's Put Our Masks Together

**Hey, look at this! My muse and flash drive are working again! w00t! and SUMMER VACATION! Which means that I have the time needed to actually work on this again^^ Sorry it's been so long, but I am not dead. Hope you enjoy, because the plot only gets thicker from here!**

**Disclaimer: Unfortunately, Lego owns Bionicle. I just like to mess with their heads.**

* * *

"Tarusoh-"

"Shhh! I'm thinking."

Ugarah frowned but closed his mouth, watching his brother scribble and mumble at the dirt by the large stone table. The silver armored being shook his head again before swiping the dirt flat again and restarting. The telepath tried again.

"Brother, we really-"

"Give me a few moments, Ugarah. I'm calculating the distance between here and our sister's vector. I need to find us the quickest route there, or we'll just be handing over more time to whoever has taken our brothers."

"We do that standing here, Taru."

"Yes, but if we were to take the way across the sea, we will have spent two weeks traveling. That's far too long. We don't have Kazea's teleporting abilities. Or Avion's wings. So we are forced to take the traditional route of travel. The faster the better."

Ugarah couldn't help but notice that his youngest brother had conveniently left out that being aloud to work on his math kept him from panicking. Not that Ugarah was complaining. The near constant edge of panic from hours ago was gone, allowing himself to calm significantly. The problem with telepathy was that one tended to feed their own imaginations on the thoughts of the others. And Tarusoh's decidedly dark and fearful thoughts as to their brothers' well being had been… keeping him on edge.

Not that the math was really any better. It was just making his head hurt now.

"Yes, well, is there any way that perhaps your mask can help us?"

Tarusoh frowned up at him. "My Mask of Matter is for making things solid or liquid, Ugarah. What do you expect me to do? Make a bridge out…. of….. Oh."

"We across the sea then. Saves us time and gets where we need to go."

"And what happens if something breaks my concentration in the middle of said sea? We _swim _the rest of the way?" Tarusoh threw his hands into the air in frustration. "Or if I run out of energy? What then?"

"Oh, I'm sure you'll think of something." His brother grinned at him, hauling him to his feet and turning to leave.

Tarusoh snorted, following his brother. "You're insane. Has anybody ever told that?"

Ugarah never turned to look at him, but when he spoke, the grin was unmistakable. "I do believe our dear sister has claimed that honor numerous times."

* * *

"This is _ridiculous!_" Tahu growled, stalking back and forth across the small clearing. One day. Only one more day and then it was over. They would have no answers, no Trainer and certainly not be any farther than they had been a week ago. "We're Toa for Mata-Nui's sake!"

Kopaka hated that he agreed with the Fire Toa. He hated even more that he was holding such a grudge. No, he had not been shown up. Just taken off guard. Twice. Happened to everyone. This is what he had convinced himself of. Or had tried to. Needless to say he wasn't doing a very good job of it. It was just - _something_ about the fact he had been taken down so easily. He had to be the best at what he did. If he wasn't, then what hope was there for his village? Despite the inner turmoil of his thoughts, the Toa of Ice watched Tahu as he made another trip across the sand.

"So we are back to Pohatu's riddle." Onua said calmly, seeming not at all upset by the turn of events.

"We do not need a riddle!" Tahu cried angrily, throwing his hands in the air. "I was so close!"

"To what? Swing-slashing her?" The Toa of Air spoke up for the first time. "I think-believe the challenge was to quick-catch her. Not quick-kill." His fire brother merely gave him an unamused glare.

"Brothers, please." Gali took a step forward and placed a hand on Tahu's shoulder, halting another turn in its progress. "I think we are looking at this the wrong way. And I also believe that Pohatu's riddle is indeed the key to this. She is testing us."

"We already knew that, sister." Tahu grunted, brushing her hand from his crimson armored shoulder.

"That is not what I meant, Tahu." Gali said softly, a frown on her graceful mask. "I am saying that perhaps these 'individual' challenges are merely disguises to something bigger."

"How so, Gali?" Pohatu, who had been deep in thought, looked at his sister thoughtfully, trying to catch the angle she had on the situation.

"She's probing. Testing our abilities as individual entities. Which she obviously knows her way around. Alone, we are not a challenge. Together-"

"Please tell me you are _not_ going to start spouting 'Unity' again?" Tahu groaned. Kopaka was once again displeased that he found himself agreeing.

"The expression in Gali's eyes became hard. "Yes, Tahu, I _**am**_! Just think about it! Alone, we have been unable to lay a finger on her, though many have come close. She has given us a hint on how to win this, if we could only look past our differences and see it. Think back to the second question, Pohatu. What was it exactly?"

Pohatu frowned and gave the question word for word. "She said –'What would you say my biggest focus would be if I were to start training you now?'"

There was a small silence as each Toa turned the words over thoughtfully. Some in a mulish and difficult silence, others in a thoughtful one. It was Onua who spoke next, the answer seemingly to have rammed into him as realization dawned across his mask in startled clarity. Had it really been that obvious?

"So the answer to Pohatu's riddle…?"

"Yes. Unity. Just think." Gali held her hands up placatingly when Tahu had opened his mouth to protest. "She has lived her life here with the matoran, though they do not know she is here. The Turaga obviously do and that is a problem we will solve another day. In that time, should it not be natural that she adopt some of the matoran's traditions? Unit, duty, destiny. She poke of duty and wht hers was. She spoke briefly of destiny, so should she not also consider unity?"

"Our sister think-speaks deep-truth." Lewa murmured quietly.

There was an uneasy silence before Tahu gave a heavy sigh and seated himself on a large stone. "So what do we do?"

Gali grinned. "I thought you'd never ask."

And with that, the Toa Nuva began to plan, firmly ignoring that the sun was setting on the sixth day and that their deadline was quickly drawing nearer.

* * *

**Reviews are great, critque is welcome as long as it is honest, ego stroking is the best, but for the love of Primus and Mata-Nui NO FLAMMERS!**


	15. The Challenge Ends

**Hey. Been awhile. Too long. Man I feel bad. Well, the muse it hard to work with, but I will fully admit to focusing far mroe on my transformers stories than my Bionicle ones. This one, at least, is still being written... Just slowly.**

**Perhaps it will pick up this year? We'll see.**

**Disclaimer: Not mine**

* * *

It was quiet. Maybe too quiet…

Or it was her just being paranoid.

Well, it wasn't her fault that she had been mucking around in the jungle all day and no Toa had shown up. She certainly wasn't stupid enough to believe they had given up. No. Tahu had his pride to worry about, just couldn't stand being beaten by a female.

Hilarious.

Pohatu was still stuck on that last riddle according to Onewa. Kind of planned for. The idea had been for the question to stick after all.

Predictive.

Gali may have figured it out by now, but that didn't mean she wasn't going to try on her own still. She was… hard to predict.

Which was surprisingly fun.

Lewa… well, she was entirely positive by this point that the Toa of Air was looking at this like some big game. Not to mention he was competitive, being the youngest and what not. It reminded her of Tarusoh.

Amusing and endearing in its own right.

Kopaka… actually, she was sure what his deal was. She would be the first to admit that she had definitely injured his pride, but he seemed bent on revenge. Which she was filing away as his being shown up in his own element… for now.

So, intriguing.

Onua was far more like the Earth he represented than the others believed. Only he put too much thought into what he was going to do next. While it wasn't necessarily a bad thing, it was still an issue to work on. Hesitating in battle could get you or your team killed. Yet he had definitely shown quite a bit of good sportsmanship. She respected that.

Perhaps not as easy as she had first assumed. Definitely… new.

Well, that was the assessment Nasukoh had so far on the Toa Nuva. Maybe there was hope for them still. Maybe, but she had her doubts.

And hadn't she just accused Onua of thinking too much? Way to be a hypocrite.

Forcing her self to focus, the Original of Mata-Nui pressed onwards, perhaps unaware of her silent follower.

* * *

"Just how far out of the way _is_ that place!" Tarusoh groaned in weariness as his feet met with solid ground once more. And not the kind he had been creating with his mask for the last half a day or so.

"You'll need to ask Zenick that. He found it." His brother replied, not as tired as his youngest brother. Which was expected.

After all, _he_ hadn't been using his mask power all the day long.

The silver armored inventor groaned again and went to his face in the dirt dramatically. By Mata-Nui he just wanted to sleep. A luxury he wasn't going to get by the way Ugarah was tugging him up.

"Come on, Taru. Just a little further and you can rest."

"You're a slave driver." The inventor grouched, stumbling as his brother tugged him through the sand.

An amused snort was his only answer his elder dragging him across the open sands and into the shadow of the foliage lining the small beach/cove they had made their way to. As soon as Ugarah stopped, he gratefully sank to the ground with a moan of relief, and promptly dropped into a well earned rest. It was quiet for several long moments before the night sounds which had been disturbed by the two travelers began again.

Ugarah remained awake, watching as the sky began to shift into the muted colors of the sunset. Here, in the lands that would normally be guarded by Avion, there was only one sun. The days were much shorter here than where he claimed his own domain. Or where Nasukoh claimed hers. He doubted Tarusoh had any real sense of night and day, his own domain almost always overcast or storming. Zenick was more along the nocturnal, preferring the dim light of the moon to the bright blinding of the sun. Which was understandable, really, considering his younger brother claimed his domain underground where having eyes sensitive to the movements of shadows equated to one's survival in the dark places of the world. Avion… Had the one sun he was now looking at. So he wasn't really sure how their eldest brother perceived time. Kazea on the other hand had far too much energy for the _three_ suns his own dominion had. In fact, the green armored Original just tended to run himself into exhaustion before he felt compelled to rest at all. That's what having longer days and shorter nights did to one.

Still, while he knew that Tarusoh's need for rest was completely justified, he was just as justified in his want to remain alert. This was not his domain. He was not familiar with it as Avion was. There was no telling what lurked here. Especially considering that Avion's own swampy home island was so close to Karzhani's realm. Who knew what the crazy slaver could have released in his brother's absence. The sooner they made it to Nasukoh's territory, the better. They needed to stay alive and un-lost first.

So it was with a grim determination that Ugarah sat, still as stone and watchful as a bird as the day bled into night.

* * *

This was… seriously getting on her nerves.

Really… What kind of an idiot did they _take_ her for anyhow?

Nasukoh was staring down at the very obvious, very unobstructed vine snare of the ground in the jungle of Le-Wahi. Like she was going to just walk right into it. Granted she had been distracted with her thoughts as of late, but that didn't mean she wasn't attuned to her basic surroundings. The Toa didn't seem to agree apparently. Or at least Lewa.

'_At least he's not charging at me again. I don't think I would have been able to keep a straight face otherwise_.'

With a sigh, she stepped over the trap, seeing no point in disabling it when she knew it was there in the first place. Day seven was almost over and then the Toa would have failed. They wouldn't be the first group of course, but it was disappointing. Even if she only admitted that to herself.

She had only made it a few meters from the trap when she found that she was forced to duck quickly, something fast, sharp and silver flying over her head. Without needing to turn around, she knew what it had been. The Toa of Fire's Great Sword… or one of the blades that made the Great Sword at least. He really was trying to kill her, wasn't he?

Wouldn't be the first time.

Just as soon as she had stood again, Nasukoh had to duck to the side to avoid a boulder. Apparently, the side was the wrong way to choose, because at that moment a strong blast of air buffeted against her, blowing her several feet backwards. She stumbled, regaining her footing only slightly before the ground below her turned to ice, her already precarious balance becoming compromised.

She fell to the ground, quickly rolling into a crouch away from the ice and avoiding another blast of wind, only to have the ground beneath her feet shift and topple her backwards once more. The shifting lasted only a few moments before she was suddenly facing the Toa of Water.

"Gali." She greeted warily, keeping her eyes open and her senses attuned for the other Toa. They were out there, she could feel it.

"Nasukoh."

There was a pause in which Nasukoh hid her surprise. Really, she shouldn't have been startled. The tablet Pohatu had possessed when she had confronted him on the second day had most definitely been from Onewa. Which meant it had her name on it. Which also meant that he had informed his siblings. News traveled fast, but at least it didn't leave the necessary circles.

The Toa of Water had removed her axes and was advancing, Nasukoh doing the same leisurely and they began their dance. Gali circled, Nasukoh followed. It was obvious what Gali was doing, reversing her own trick on her. Too bad there weren't any cliffs.

What was surprising was when Lewa suddenly burst from the undergrowth and charged straight at her. Nasukoh reflexively went to block him, but was left wide open to Gali, her entire side suddenly blasted by a powerful jet of water. Nasukoh stumbled back once more, something snaring her ankle.

The Original had one moment for everything to catch up when she was suddenly hanging upside down, caught by the trap she had stepped over not a few minutes ago.

Gali laughed triumphantly, Lewa whooping and throwing a fist in the air dramatically. It was as if that were the cue the hidden Toa were waiting for, all six of them now standing in the small clearing.

"We win." Tahu said smugly, retrieving his sword from where it was embedded in a tree. He swung back, cutting the vine that held the Toa Trainer suspended and dropping her to the ground.

Nasukoh rolled gracefully, coming to stand a few feet from the gathered Toa. The sun was just setting, marking the beginning of the end of the day.

If the Toa were expecting some sort of scathing retort, an off-putting remark then they were startingly disappointed. Nasukoh was laughing. A light happy sound that carried through the trees.

"Cutting it close." Her voice was full of merriment… maybe some pride. "And it took you long enough."

Despite themselves, the Toa, aside from Tahu and Kopaka (the former confused and the latter just that uptight) smiled and laughed along with their new ally.

Things were going to become much more interesting now.

* * *

**Well, there you are. Hope the wait was worth it...**


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